Sexual Orientation
In our day and age, being of a sexual orientation other than heterosexual is somewhat common. Though it is definitely not considered a norm, it is more accepted in most parts of the world. A few years ago, people who were not heterosexual had to hide who they really were in order to be accepted by society. Because of this norm, one automatically assumes they are straight whether it comes to themselves or others. So how do homosexual/asexual people become conscious of their sexual orientation? In the same way that gender is a spectrum, sexuality is a spectrum as well. There are four distinct sexualities. Heterosexual, or straight, people are attracted to members of the opposite sex. Bisexuals are attracted to members of both genders. Homosexuals are attracted to people of the same sex. Homosexuals can be called gay, for both genders, or lesbian, for females only. The last sexuality is asexual, in which there is no attraction to either sexes. Psychologists say that sexuality is determined in the early stages of childhood but is not a conscious decision. Basically, people are born with their sexuality. That being said, many parents assume there might be something off about their child if they show interest in activities meant for the opposite sex. If their little girl doesn’t like to dress up and would rather play in the dirt, parents start to get suspicious. If their little boy likes dolls and is not all that interested in going outside or playing video games, parents think there’s a possibility of them being gay. But a very important thing to understand about sexuality is that there is no way to tell what sexuality someone is just by how masculine or feminine they are. That is because, like afore mentioned, gender is a spectrum. There are gay men that are very masculine but then some that are also extremely feminine. There are lesbians that seem like straight girls to others because they aren’t as masculine as the stereotypical lesbian. This applies to other